first of all if it didn't come from the factory stock or factory aftermarket, then it's considered ILLEGAL!! hid kits, bulbs, tailights, and lift and lowering kits are all illegal.

as far as the hid lights go...putting them in conventional housings doesn't make them any worse or better...they're actutally better if they're put in projectors but then that's not really gonna help either. conventional housings actually cut the glare factor...

It is an ABSOLUTE MUST that if you get them that you re-aim your lights lower than factory because they will burn your eyes, just like regular bulbs, if you look right into them because they are sooooo bright. That doen't mean being cheap and let your friends do it or your dad do it! That means taking your truck to the dealership and letting a professional do it so that they're right the first time!

HID kits are illegal only because you hae to have a system that will auto-level the lights for you. meaning there's a preset height on the bulbs and if that height isn't right they will either rise or lower themselves for optimum height.

I've never had a problem with my lights and i've never been pulled over either and i've had mine for about 6 months now. mainly because my lights are lower then normal and they're not aimed at peoples faces. now if your in a lowered car or truck and they're in your face that's your problem not mine you should've left well enough alone.

As far as those nokyas go, i have the exact same set both Stage II's for my regular lights and fog lights and my harness hasn't melted at all...and i used the regular bulbs for a year before my hid kit and i still have the fogs in and i've had them for 2!

as far as the kit goes and installation it's plug and play...no cutting of wires or anything. the headlight unit itself will not melt as they are lower wattages and use less power--that's what the ballasts are for.

The downside is you loose your bright lights, but like i said before these light up EVERYTHING and you don't need them...i can see cop cars miles down the road with those reflective stickers they have. the road actually lights up because they're reflictive particles in it. the street signs and road markers and all that crap lights up.

for the money you can't beat it...and yes you can buy them elsewhere but they will run you about $500+. my kit retails for $1100 because of the color temp

first of all if it didn't come from the factory stock or factory aftermarket, then it's considered ILLEGAL!! hid kits, bulbs, tailights, and lift and lowering kits are all illegal.

That is simply not the case. Read my previous reply regarding federal DOT standard complience for manufacture and sale VS consumer usage of the same product, which is regulated by state law. That broad statement you just made about what is illegal and what isn't is absolutely not true.

Nothing is DOT approved. DOT doesn't approve anything. DOT writes the standards and it is up to each manufacturer to meet them.

According to the backside of my motorcycle helmet, it was approved by the DOT!

..Although overall I agree, you're right. That's why mandatory helmet laws (issued by a given state BTW) that mandate 'DOT approved' helmets are so easy to side-step.

Quote:

DOT approved

The Department of Transportation (DOT) determines the national standard by which a helmet's street-legal use is determined. In states requiring use of a DOT approved helmet it is required that your helmet have the DOT sticker on the back. Without that sticker a rider can be subject to fines. If you live in a state with a helmet law be sure that your helmet has the DOT sticker on the back. And, of course, we carry a huge line of DOT approved helmets.

Notice the lack of mention of enforcement or means of checking. This basically means it is up to the maker to ensure their helmets meet the DOT recommendation. It does not necessarily mean that a helmet meets a certian criteria for protection, just that it was designed/produced to the DOT recommendation. Well, not necessarily anyhow.. This huge loophole/gray area is how thousands of riders get away w/ strapping a DOT Approved sticker on the back of their 'novelty' helmets and riding around wearing them. My father is one such rider. Everytime he goes to Mass he whips out his $40 'beanie' style helmet.. Right on the back is a 'DOT Approved' sticker.. which is one of ~20 his friend made w/ an injet printer and some supplies from Staples.. Incidentially that friend is a MSF instructor! .. Right next to the sticker is another sticker that says "Helmet Laws SUCK!" .. Yeah, pops rides a Harley.

What the original poster has done w/ his aftermarket HID kit strikes me as very similar to what my dad's done w/ the inkjet sticker.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FireRanger

If it doesn't meet the standards, they are not allowed to sell them for street use in the United States of America. This has no bearing on what you as the consumer are allowed to purchase and what you as the end-user are allowed to install on your vehicle. Lighting on your vehicle is regulated by STATE law. State law is just that, laws applying to your state and your state only. The only way the use of these non-complient HID lights is going to be illegal is if your state specificly has that written into the state motor vehicle statutes.

These laws are also enforced at the state level too. I can't remember the last time I heard of someone being pulled over by the FBI..

The phrase "DOT APPROVED" is somewhat a miss-used one. The lawyers for DOT will tell you that "we don't approve anything" and truthfully, they don't. Sometimes I think "DOT APPROVED" is jsut easier to write than "MEETS OR EXCEEDS ALL DOT STANDARDS". I would think "DOT COMPLIENT" is just as easy, but I guess that just isn't the buzz word. Approved sounds better as a sales pitch I guess.

There have been cases where federa authorities have raided retailers and manufactuers for gross and blatent violations. APC comes to mind. They rely heavily on the product not making to the shelves in the first place or people not using them.

Okay, I buy that. Maybe it's thought that your average consumer wouldn't understand the difference. As it is, it seems that it works quite well, even the lawmakers and enforcement agencies don't seem to!

Besides.. 'COMPLIANT' is hard to spell!

In my example, there are plenty of DOT compliant helmets out there who's manufacturers refuse to put 'DOT Approved' stickers on them. Most seem to be snowmobile helmet makers that don't want to assume the added legal exposure by marketing their products to motorcyclists.

first of all if it didn't come from the factory stock or factory aftermarket, then it's considered ILLEGAL!! hid kits, bulbs, tailights, and lift and lowering kits are all illegal.

Not every state considers them illegal. In massachusetts, you can have lift kits, lowering kits and still pass inspection without a problem. They only catch is that you only have a differance of 6" from the stock hieght.

Tailights , clear corners, etc. Are legal as long as the rear brake and parking lights are red along with red or amber turn signals, and the front parking/ turn signals have to be amber. The tailights have to have a red reflector, and the front lights have to have an amber reflector, size don't matter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rddvl23

HID kits are illegal only because you hae to have a system that will auto-level the lights for you. meaning there's a preset height on the bulbs and if that height isn't right they will either rise or lower themselves for optimum height.

Not every car that comes with a factory installed HID system has the ability to auto aim the lights. Only high class luxury autos have an option when you purchase them to auto aim the lights.

Good example right here with the Acura RL, This is right from the Acura web site:

why can't we jus chill about it? lets just say it's very risky...it's not really a big deal. If you get a ticket I guess you had a warning...

after reading all that Acura stuff... I'm wandering how much that auto glass(weired tint sometimes bluish or brown) thats in those High-end cars cost? and is it available?

im with you..no biggie on this topic..but since i work at acura, that lighting system you mentioned is for cornering. when the car turns, the projectors turn the lights with the wheel to light up the corners etc...the auto leveling i was talknig about has to do with the lights automatically adjusting themselves to ride height...every car with hid lights has to have that. my dad's qx4 has a level switch that you can push and the lights will move up or down a little more if they're in the cars mirror when the preset height isn't good enough

i thought that the fact that they burn at a couple thousand K's brighter than normal bulbs do was why they were melting the housing casings.. not because of their rated wattage.

That's color temperature, not physical temperature.

The whole point of the legal thing is to look it up for your state before you run off with or without something. Then you don't have to go on the internet and be misled by thousands of people and websites saying their own versions of the law. I mean by actually looking at the statutes published by the state, not just reading a summery on a retailers site. That's how I learned most of this stuff. It benefits you because if a cop tries to ticket you for something that isn't a violation, your going to know it, you can easily fight it, and win.

The whole point of the legal thing is to look it up for your state before you run off with or without something. Then you don't have to go on the internet and be misled by thousands of people and websites saying their own versions of the law. I mean by actually looking at the statutes published by the state, not just reading a summery on a retailers site. That's how I learned most of this stuff. It benefits you because if a cop tries to ticket you for something that isn't a violation, your going to know it, you can easily fight it, and win.

The whole point of the legal thing is to look it up for your state before you run off with or without something. Then you don't have to go on the internet and be misled by thousands of people and websites saying their own versions of the law. I mean by actually looking at the statutes published by the state, not just reading a summery on a retailers site. That's how I learned most of this stuff. It benefits you because if a cop tries to ticket you for something that isn't a violation, your going to know it, you can easily fight it, and win.